Prime Minister Perry Christie yesterday shot down suggestions from opposition members that he "ran away" from the vote on the Value-Added Tax (VAT) Bill in the House of Assembly and accused them of trying to score political points.
On Friday, Opposition Leader Dr. Hubert Minnis said it was disgraceful that Christie wasn't present during the vote, considering that VAT represents a turning point for The Bahamas.
But Christie said he knew the vote was in good hands.
"As prime minister of the country, I have to make a judgment as to whether or not my presence is sufficiently important to remain," he told reporters yesterday.
"I knew that we had the majority to pass the VAT Bill. I knew that I had personally led the preparation for the country. I knew I had met with the private sector of The Bahamas in respect to that.
"I know that we have to do more to prepare the government before the January introduction. I'm in the process now of solidifying and improving the team and the capacity to deal with the legislation. And so my colleagues knew I wouldn't be there. I made my contribution and I left."
On Wednesday evening, Christie traveled to Las Vegas with Tourism Minister Obie Wilchcombe for the opening of a hotel and casino.
The VAT Bill passed with 22 yes votes, eight no votes and six absent.
The opposition voted against the bill.
Nonetheless, Minnis said, as minister of finance, Christie should have been present. He also suggested that Christie was absent during the vote because he didn't want the record to reflect that he was there when legislation was passed that would "lead to the destruction of the nation".
But Christie said he was working to bring new investment opportunities into the country.
"I happen to be the lead person when it comes to investment and when it comes to new innovations in government," he said. "We had very significant meetings, one of which was for me to meet with the owners of SLS, the new company coming in at [Baha Mar].
"...I wanted to encourage them because they were coming in at the last moment to take over a property."
Christie said he also met with former NBA player Rick Fox and other NBA promoters, who are interested in hosting "major promotions" in The Bahamas.
As for Minnis' suggestion that VAT will hurt the country, Christie said Minnis is wrong.
"The fact of the matter is VAT will become the law," he said. "It will come into effect in January. It will not have the negative impact that they say it's going to have. I'm going to make sure of that.
"When it comes to protection of the poor, we are going to have new levels of policing in terms of pricing and prices to protect the poor. We are going to be very specific in terms of what we put in place."
Several other politicians also criticized Christie for his absence, including FNM Deputy Leader Loretta Butler-Turner and Democratic National Alliance (DNA) Deputy Leader Christopher Mortimer, who both said Christie's absence was a "crying shame".
The government will introduce VAT at a rate of 7.5 percent. According to government estimates, VAT will result in the collection of an additional $300 million in revenue annually.

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